


Hell is Empty

by quantumsentience



Category: The Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Demon Hunters, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, Femslash
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-14
Updated: 2020-10-04
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:28:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 14,929
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23146225
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/quantumsentience/pseuds/quantumsentience
Summary: Clary and Simon go to Pandemonium, and she is entranced by the long haired brunette in a white dress and a ruby necklace. So much so, she decides to follow her into an empty storage room. Only Isabelle didn’t come with her shadowhunter brothers this time, and is clearly shocked that Clary can see her and the demon she is stabbing and sending into another dimension. Clary doesn't fall for Jace Lightwood in this story, but for his ridiculously attractive and badass sister instead.
Relationships: Clary Fray/Isabelle Lightwood
Comments: 22
Kudos: 106





	1. Danse Macabre

The air of Pandemonium was thick with the smell of sweat and expensive perfume as Clary and Simon squeezed their way in through the narrow door of the poorly-lit, jam-packed club. They both stuck out as a sore thumb among the pierced, tattooed and funky hair colored crowd, in their rather nerdish, plain clothes, but that was something Clary was trying not to think too much about.

It didn't matter how awkward and out of place she felt each time she came, there was just something about the club that she loved so much, she couldn't help dragging Simon there over and over. The alternative music, the eerie mist, the dancing lights, the whole atmosphere felt like a dream, and one she was dying to be a part of. But it wasn't like she actually had the courage to talk to anybody besides her friend.

Clary found it strange how all the outlandish people she'd never seen out in the streets of New York City gathered here every night, appearing seemingly out of nowhere. It almost made her wonder if a portal to another dimension hadn't opened, and if all these people hadn't simply come flowing out directly into the dancefloor. Not that it made any sense.

There was one person in particular Clary's eyes couldn't help but settle on as she and Simon danced, or at least attempted to, in the middle of the jam-packed room.

The girl was the type Clary loved to draw: tall and slim, probably a bit older than her. And also absolutely gorgeous. A curtain of obsidian hair flowed over her dainty, pale shoulders, in stark comparison with the floor-length white dress she wore, who seemed like it was borrowed from a Victorian lady's closet, with black lace-up boots peeking from underneath it. She looked like she'd come straight out of the cover of a Gothic Beauty magazine, with her porcelain skin and the dark makeup that covered her exquisite features. The kind of girl that all guys adored and all girls wanted to be. Also the kind who would never in a million years give her a second glance, Clary thought to herself as she admired her.

The girl was browsing the dance floor with a purpose, looking for someone, probably her proportionally hot date and, Clary noticed, she was also wearing a silver necklace with a ruby pendant hanging from it, seemingly pulsing against the lights like a second heart. She brought a hand up to her face to brush a lock of her long hair away, her lace sleeves lowering when she did, exposing the skin on her arms, which Clary saw were covered in very peculiar tattoos. Bold, black, intricate spirals and designs twirled around her wrist and up her arm, only adding to her dark allure, visible even from this side of the room. She had this kind of enigmatic beauty, and such a confidence to go with it, Clary wouldn't have been surprised to learn she was the lead singer of a symphonic goth band, or something equally as cool.

Clary saw the gothic girl start to head towards a room with a sign that read _NO ADMITTANCE_ , the slightly ajar door showing a glimpse of stacked boxes and tangled electrical wires, but not before turning around to scan the dancefloor, a mischievous smile on her lips, like a secret invitation.

It would be easy to slip away from her friend and swerve through the crowd to reach the girl, maybe start up a conversation. Clary wondered what the girl would say if she saw her there, if she would introduce herself, or just rudely dismiss her for being uncool.

"Hey, Earth to Clary? Are you listening to me?" she heard Simon say through the loud music and she realized he'd been trying to have a conversation with her for a while, and she'd tuned him out, too busy daydreaming about the mysterious girl.

"Yeah, sorry. It's really loud in here" she shouted back at him, gesturing to her ears for emphasis

Simon nodded "Great tunes tonight, don't you think? DJ Bat is doing an _exceptional_ job." Simon said, accentuating the word

Clary mentally rolled her eyes. Simon hated coming here, yet for some inexplicable reason he always tried to pretend he was having the time of his life.

"Yup. Totally." Clary answered, already turning away "I'll be right back okay, Simon?" 

She heard Simon shout something that sounded like 'what?' or 'where?' over the noise behind her.

"Uh, the bathroom." she lied, already too busy pushing and shoving through the dense crowd with an irrational frenzy to wait for a response.

Clary rushed to the storage room, completely under the spell of the girl, who had slipped into the dark room through a curtain of smoke like a translucent, incorporeal ghost, silently beckoning her to follow.

* * *

She pushed the door open, and was surprised to find the room completely deserted, even though she'd seen the girl go in with her own two eyes. _It makes no sense_ , she thought to herself, as she wandered deeper in the room. The only light came from tall, barred windows, and the usual city noises spilled faintly from them, along with a cold breeze. The floor was covered in a thick layer of dust, and the whole room smelled like it hadn't been used much in a while. It was a completely normal storage room, Clary realized, no secret doors or passages. And the girl was nowhere to be seen.

In her panic, she didn't notice the numerous wires directly in front of her, and had to stop to untangle her green sneaker from them, before tumbling to the floor like she so often did. But out of nowhere, voices rose up, a girl's laugh and a boy answering sharply. And all of a sudden she saw them, right in front of her, where a second ago nothing could be seen.

The girl was miraculously there, in her long pale gown, but now she was accompanied by a blue-haired boy Clary remembered seeing at the entrance making a fuss with the bouncer about some fake weapon. But now the punk kid was on the floor, tied to a pillar with some kind of metallic wire, an expression of fear distorting his features as the girl stood over him, a dagger in her hand, and a predatory look on her face.

Her relief and excitement at seeing the beautiful girl only lasted a second, and was now replaced by panic and confusion, as she ducked around the pillar instinctively. Clary knew Pandemonium was a bit freaky and eccentric, and she loved it for that, but _this_? This was on a whole other level.

The tall brunette crossed her arms over her chest, slowly pacing in front of the boy, like a lazy cat toying with its food. "Listen boy, we can make this quick, or we can make it hurt" she said to him in an icy tone, as she twirled the dagger in her hand "Your choice"

The blue-haired boy shook his head, "I have no idea what you're talking about", he said, his voice pleading

A rich, hearty laugh rose from the girl, surprising Clary.

"Please. Don't insult me. You know exactly what I'm talking about. In fact, I think you should tell me if there are other weasels of your kind out there"

 _Your kind?_ Clary thought to herself, wondering if she'd stumbled into some weird gang war. She could sort of picture the girl as a gang lord, criminally tyrannical and beautiful, like some mistress of evil.

"Why are you doing this?" he asked her, his eyes wide with fear, yet somehow, Clary noticed a slight defying, almost rebellious tone to his voice

"It would be really smart to answer me, I'm starting to get bored, you know" she gave a long sigh, as she tossed her hair over her shoulder "I'll ask again, are there other demons with you, boy?"

 _More like some kind of satanic cult_ , Clary thought to herself.

The blue haired boy simply turned his head away from her, refusing to answer.

"Well, I tried. Goodbye, then" she said with a shrug, before lowering the dagger towards his heart in a swift motion, ready to pierce his skin, too fast for Clary to react.

"Wait!" he frantically said, making her pause "I can tell you where Valentine is! All Infernal Worlds know that he's back"

The girl made a thoughtful expression, the dagger still in her hand, hovering over the boy's heart. Clary noticed it was a very peculiar blade, completely transparent, like it was made entirely from a shard of glass.

"Mmmhh, let me think about it…" she trailed off, before breaking the most beautiful yet terrifying smile Clary had ever seen "No, don't believe it, sorry"

She lowered the dagger again as a scream started to raise from his throat, an expression of utter panic on his face...

"Stop!" Clary cried, suddenly stepping out from behind the pillar "You can't do this"

The tall girl turned around, so surprised the blade fell from her hand, clattering on the concrete floor and landing in the pile of tangled cables. The punk boy looked at her too, his breath ragged and hard as he struggled against his bonds.

The girl's eyes narrowed as she looked in her direction, and suddenly Clary felt very much like a butterfly caught in a spiderweb, vulnerable and defenseless. "What are you doing here?", the girl said in what could only be described as a menacing tone

"I, well, I followed you. From the dancefloor" she said, mentally facepalming herself at her poor choice of words "You can't just _kill_ him, he didn't even do anything!"

"Of course you would think that. You're just a _mundie_." she said sarcastically, pronouncing the last word like it disgusted her. "Get out of my sight" she added, making a shoo-ing motion towards her like she was some insect pestering her, her manicured nails gleaming in the poor lighting.

"No, you'll kill him if I go. And I'm not some 'mundie'. Whatever that is" she said, feeling insulted "My name is Clary"

"I don't know why you can see me, little girl, and frankly, I couldn't care less. But you better get out of here before I make you" Clary didn't like the threatening look the girl was giving her, nor the fact that she was calling her 'little girl' when they were clearly around the same age.

But Clary didn't have time to say any of that, because the punk boy she'd almost forgotten about was lunging for the girl with a battle cry, free from his restraints, taking both of them completely by surprise.

They fell to the ground with a loud thud, rolling together as the boy teared at her chest with hands that turned into sharp, angled claws right in front of Clary's eyes, suddenly not looking so innocent. The girl shrieked and grunted with effort as she tried to pry him off her, reaching for the golden wire that was still attached to the pillar next to them, but it was stuck.

Clary panicked, still frozen in place at the sight of the boy's claws stained with blood, not understanding any of what she was seeing, but the girl called out to her, snapping her out of her shock.

"Pass me the dagger, you!" she said, her voice rising in pitch as she dove and swerved around the creature's razorlike claws, narrowly escaping his killer blows

Clary walked over to where they'd been standing before, uselessly rummaging around the cables on the floor for the blade the girl had dropped.

"I can't find it" she said with panic, but the girl had finally managed to disentangle the wire, and was brandishing it like a whip towards the monster, making him shriek in pain, as the golden rope coiled itself around his shoulders, digging deeply into his flesh.

Just as she saw that, Clary felt with her fingertips a cool, sharp object, and lifted it up to see that it was the strange, luminescent dagger the girl carried, on her fingertip a drop of blood from the surface cut she barely even noticed.

"Come on, pass it to me, you useless girl!" the tall girl said, breathing hard from the fight, a hand outstretched in Clary's direction. Clary complied and saw that the boy was covered in a thick, dark substance where the bounds had cut into him. Blood.

The girl sank the dagger into his chest effortlessly, like she'd done it a thousand times, as more of the black liquid exploded around its hilt, and the boy twitched and gurgled with pain. She reached down to yank the knife out of him, splashing more strange blood around.

The boy's bright green eyes flickered open, staring into the girl's, as he hissed between his teeth " _So be it. The Foresaken will take you all_ "

But then his eyes rolled back into his head, and his body began to jerk wildly, as he folded into himself, becoming smaller with every second that passed, until he had disappeared without a trace.

The girl got up, recoiling the whip around her arm like a snake with a flick of the wrist, splattering Clary with the creature's blood in the process, and eerily reminding her of Wonder Woman and her Lasso of Truth.

"Ugh, you stupid mundie, you almost got me killed! _And_ you made me ruin my dress!" she hissed, that last part packed with even more fury than the rest, as she examined the fabric of her dress stained with the viscous black liquid

Clary wiped the blood off herface with the back of her hand "Sorry, I guess. I mean, what the hell _was_ that?", she said discovering that the liquid stung slightly

"It's a demon, you idiot "she shook her head, like she couldn't believe Clary had the audacity to ask such a thing, before wiping the dagger on her already sullied dress, making a face "I don't even know why I'm explaining this to you, but I'm a shadowhunter. And you just interrupted me in the middle of my work."

"Well, excuse me for not letting you murder someone in peace. Or what looked like someone…" she trailed off

When she first intervened, Clary had thought that she was stopping a cold-blooded murderer, and a cute one at that, from taking the life of an helpless victim. Now, she wasn't so sure.

The girl gave Clary a grin full of malice "Doesn't seem so innocent now, does it? Which is why you should stop meddling with things that don't concern you.", she said

"But he just..." Clary made a vague gesture with her hands, still not understanding even a fraction of what she had seen "vanished into thin air!"

The girl rolled her eyes at her, "It went back to its dimension. Like I said, not your business"

Well, the girl clearly had an attitude, but Clary was too busy trying to make sense of it all to be offended by her remarks.

"You said you didn't know why I could see you," Clary started, suddenly remembering something "Does that mean you're supposed to be invisible or something?"

"Usually, yes. And it's done precisely to avoid you pesky people from meddling with our affairs. Guess it didn't work on you" she said dismissively, but Clary noticed a tinge of uncertainty creeping into her tone

Clary was about to ask the girl about it when the door flew open, the lights and music pouring in, as a familiar face with scraggly hair and tiny glasses stood on the doorway.

"Clary! There you are! I've been looking for you all over. You said you went to the bathroom but you went the opposite way? so I thought maybe you were lost and..." Simon trailed off, looking around the room with a puzzled expression "Why are you in here all by yourself?"

Clary turned around and peered behind her, where Isabelle stood pale under the dim lights, her long dress stained with the monster's blood, a dagger in hand, an eyebrow arched on her beautiful face, like she was saying 'See? I told you'. Yet Simon couldn't see any of it.

Slowly Clary turned back around to face him, not as surprised by his apparent blindness as she should've been, considering all the impossible things she'd seen up to that point. Clary wondered how she must look to him, standing alone in the dark storage room, with her feet tangled in the plastic wires. "Sorry, I was looking for the bathroom. Obviously I couldn't find it. It's uh, it's nice and quiet in here" she ended up saying.

Simon was looking at her with a quizzical expression, his face full of suspicion, like somehow he knew she was lying, only he didn't know what about. _I guess it's not so surprising,_ Clary thought, _we've known each other for years, but better he thinks of me as a little eccentric rather than just completely losing my mind._

"You sure? You kind of look like you saw a ghost or something" he asked her and his voice was etched with concern. _You're not that far off,_ Clary thought.

"I needed some fresh air, is all" Clary added in hopes it would convince him, and his expression changed, a hint of pity appearing in his features

"Okay, I guess. I mean, not that it isn't nice in here, you know" he said, obviously trying to make her feel better, as he gestured to their banal surroundings, but only making her more embarrassed that it was all happening in front of the girl "It's got a nice uh, musty smell and everything"

Because, even if Simon couldn't hear it, behind her the enigma girl was laughing softly, still listening to their every word.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Thank you so much for reading !
> 
> I'm so happy about the first chapter of this new fic, and I hope you enjoyed it :) Plan on making this a bit of a longfic.


	2. Queen of Darkness

Clary was in her room, drawing, or at least attempting to.

On the page was a picture of the raven-haired girl from last night, sitting on a throne made entirely out of human skulls. She was wearing a sleek black dress with a plunging neckline, her chin titled proudly as she looked down on her subjects. At the top of her head sat a crooked crown of old, twisted bones. Regal, powerful and infinitely dangerous, the girl looked like a dark, maleficent queen.

Clary couldn't stop thinking about the events of yesterday but most of all, the image of the girl seemed to have ingrained itself onto her brain. She just couldn't get her features quite right. Her intense dark eyes, the delicate arch of her eyebrows, the long spill of her inky hair, her tall, slender silhouette...

She ripped her headphones off with an exasperated sigh, only to realize the phone was ringing, and probably had been for a while. Clary ran over to the living room, grabbing the antique red phone off its stand as it rang on.

"Hello?" she asked the receiver, twirling the cord nervously around her finger

A strange voice resonated through the speakers, "Hi, I'm the spooky phantom you saw last night in the storage room-", but Clary interrrupted it, recognizing the annoyingly familiar voice, "Very funny, Simon" she said, sighing as she heard his laugh booming from the other end of the line

Simon seemed extremely proud of himself, "I'm a comedic genius, I know", he said

"Yeah, right" she said, rolling her eyes "You should've seen my mom yesterday. So not funny. She had a massive freak-out over me being late, let's just say it wasn't pretty"

Simon was immediately outraged, "What? It's not our fault we couldn't hail a cab!", he said

Various voices could be heard in the background as he spoke to her, shouting and speaking excitedly behind Simon. Wherever he was.

"Yeah, well, she doesn't think that way. I'm a disappointment, her greatest affliction, the bane of her existence, you know the drill..." she trailed off "Anyway, where are you?"

"That sucks, Clary" he said apologetically before perking up again "Oh, we just finished practising. Eric's doing a poetry reading over at Java Jones tonight, want to come?"

An overly enthusiastic truck driver started honking down the street. Clary inched closer to the window and parted the curtains to reveal a classic NYC traffic jammed street, with cars stacked close together like a game of tetris. _Ugh, traffic,_ Clary thought to herself. She was glad she didn't own a car.

"I don't know, my mom's still pretty mad about last night. Not sure I want to piss her off on account of Eric's poetry, you know?", she said, closing the curtains back and getting comfy on her mother's red couch

"Come on, it's not so bad" Simon said "Besides, it's just around the block from your house. I'll pick you up and we'll go together. Your mom won't mind. She loves me"

That made Clary laugh "Sign of her questionable taste, if you ask me"

"I did _not_ " he said pointedly before hanging up

* * *

"What's up with that?" Simon asked her once they were on their way to the Mexican restaurant they often went to, apparently not having missed the fact that Clary and her mother weren't on the best of terms when he showed up on their doorstep, unknowingly taking Clary out of her misery.

"Say goodbye to my art classes, even though I paid for them" Clary said with an irritated sigh "She's going to exile me for the whole summer for who knows what reason. It wasn't enough to ground me every other week, now she has to do this?"

 _And she actually expects me to be okay with it?_ , Clary thought to herself in disbelief.

Simon gave a low whistle after hearing what she had to say, "Well, I guess that's how your mom gets sometimes. Though I have to admit, it seems a bit over the top, even for her."

Clary shook her head, "I just can't believe the way she's being right now"

As if on cue, Clary's phone buzzed with yet another of her mom's calls. It wasn't surprising, after the way she'd stormed out of the house as soon as she'd seen Simon's face, grabbing his hand and hauling him away before Jocelyn even had time to protest.

Clary gave yet another sigh, starting to get real tired of the whole situation and all the drama, as she rummaged through her messenger bag to find the dammed apparatus, scowling at the sight of her mother's name on the screen.

"That your mom?" Simon asked, to which Clary simply nodded in reply "I could tell. Are you going to answer her?"

"Not now" Clary said, only feeling a little guilty about it as she declined the call "I'm sick of fighting with her"

Simon gave her an understanding look, "It's not going to last forever, Clary. I know your mom. She gets like that sometimes but she'll think better of it", he said. Clary could tell it was meant to be reassuring, but the statement only made more doubt grow in Clary's mind.

"Do you, though? Know her, I mean" She said, biting her lip, more to herself than to him "Sometimes I get the feeling that no one really does. Except for Luke, maybe"

Clary's mother had always been a bit eccentric and enigmatic, it was all part of her charm, but everytime she got overprotective like this, Clary couldn't help but wonder if there wasn't a deeper reason behind it, if there wasn't something she wasn't telling her. The only one who seemed to know her better was Luke, they had this mutual understanding and sometimes gave each other these looks of silent communication that she had never been able to decipher.

"Uh, you lost me there" said Simon, snapping her out of her thoughts, a quizzical expression on his face

Clary shook her head, realizing he'll probably think she was paranoid when she told him.

"I just don't know that much about her. Her life, her family, she never talks about any of it. She says her life started when she had me, but that just seems weird to me"

Simon shook his head, "Well, that's just sweet of her. But what's that about Luke?"

"They've known each other for years, so he obviously knows things about her past that I don't" Clary said slowly

"Come on, Clary, your mom isn't Batman or anything." Simon gave a little laugh, like he thought Clary was being ridiculous "I doubt she has this deep, dark past you don't know about. She probably didn't get along with her parents and doesn't like talking about it"

"Yeah, I guess" she simply answered him, as they made their way into the restaurant to order their usual meals.

Clary wanted desperately to believe her friend, but couldn't shake the feeling there was something important she didn't know. A secret or a lie. Something big.

Something bad.

* * *

The coffeehouse where Eric's reading was taking place was particularly packed that day, especially for a Monday, all the worn-out couches were occupied by teenagers busy chatting amongst themselves. The strong smell of coffee and clove cigarettes filled the room and made Clary crinkle her nose when she came in through the front door.

Eric was already on stage, looking deeply concentrated with his eyes closed, a microphone in hand, and Clary saw he'd even dyed the tips of his hair pink for the occasion. Behind him Matt was erratically beating a djembe, looking pretty stoned. It was all beyond lame.

Clary tugged on Simon's sleeve, ready to tell him Eric probably wouldn't mind if they both skipped this one. And the next one after that. And surely he wouldn't mind if they never came to one of his shows again.

"No, Clary, we can't. I am a man of my word" He theatrically said to her, reading her thoughts and shaking his head for extra dramatism "I'll get us coffee if you find our seats. What do you want?"

Clary gave a big sigh before saying the lamest thing she could think of in the most serious tone possible, "Black, like my soul" to which Simon gave a snort. She found a seat towards the back of the room and waited for her friend to come back. When he did, he was carrying two Styrofoam cups, concentrating on not dropping either of them or burning his fingers.

"Uh, Clary, there's something I need to tell you" he said as he sat beside her, uncharacteristically serious for him

"It's fine if they didn't have any mugs, I don't mind" Clary took the Styrofoam cup out of his hand, blowing on it before taking a boiling-hot sip. The strong bitter taste filled her mouth, with only a hint of sugar at the end, instantly giving her a much needed energy boost.

"No, that's not it. Listen, you know how I'm the only one in our group who doesn't have a girlfriend"

The sudden change of topic took her by surprise.

"You are? What about Eric?"

Simon gave her an impatient look, annoyed she wasn't getting whatever he was trying to say "He's dating Sheila, but that's beside the point, okay?"

"Huh, okay. Then why don't you ask Jaida Jones out?" Clary said, not really getting why he seemed so troubled about the whole thing. He and Jaida were friends and Clary was sure she secretly had a thing for him, anyway.

"Because I like someone else" Simon said, practically shaking with nerves

 _Just what is he so afraid of telling me?_ , Clary asked herself

"Okay. Do I know them?" She tried to make her voice as steady and reassuring as possible.

Simon gave a small strained laugh before answering "Yeah, I guess you could say that. Listen..."

Behind them someone gave a long, annoyed sigh, interrupting them.

Clary turned around, and on a nearby chair was the girl from yesterday, like an apparition, looking like an annoyed alternative model. She was dressed in a short velvet dress, paired with fishnets tights and chunky black boots, a dark coat draped over the arm of the chair, in what had to be casual wear for her, if yesterday's Victorian gown was anything to go by. Clary actually gasped at the sight of the girl, as lovely and outlandish as ever, and wasn't surprised to see Simon glancing behind them, totally oblivious to her presence. In fact, for someone so breath-taking, she wasn't attracting any attention whatsoever.

And Clary was sure she hadn't been there when they came in.

Like an eerie picture of the drawing she'd done this morning, she was sitting like a queen at her throne, her arm resting lazily on the armrest, her chin propped on her hand, her beautiful face titled as she stared directly at Clary and Simon, like they were strange animals at the zoo or insects under a microscope. Clary noticed that same strange knife hanging from a holster at the girl's thigh.

Then the girl got up and started to leave, surprising Clary, gesturing with her hand for her to follow, not even waiting for her answer. That immediately pissed Clary off.

"Clary? Are you okay?" she heard Simon say beside her, looking lost. She felt bad for interrupting him, but whatever it was he wanted to tell her would have to wait

"Sorry, I'll be right back" she said to him, before getting up and hurrying towards the girl, who was already out of sight, a sudden flashback of yesterday's events flashing before her.

Clary hurried, both annoyed at the girl and slightly afraid that she might disappear, but once she went through the front door, there she was, her back propped against the brick wall as she examined her nails, which were surprisingly short, yet still painted a glossy black.

The girl didn't even bother to glance in Clary's direction, "What took you so long? Quit wasting my time, will you" she said

Clary couldn't believe this girl's attitude.

"Seriously? First you follow me around like some stalker and now this is what you have to say for yourself?"

The girl glanced up at Clary, "I wasn't following you because I want to. Obviously."

Clary didn't like the way she'd said that, especially since it was accompanied with a sneer.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"What do you think? You just made me sit through the most pathetic poetry reading on Earth!" She paused, rolling her eyes " Please tell me not all mundies are this boring"

Clary still wasn't sure what the 'mundie' word meant, but she knew it wasn't anything good, "That condescending tone of yours is really annoying, you know. Besides, I didn't make you do anything", she said

"Whatever." the girl said, abruptly grabbing Clary's hand, a bit too forcefully, and flipping it over to look at the back of her hand. She furrowed her brow in frustration "You're not left-handed, right?"

"Why does it matter?" Clary said, jerking her hand back from the girl's grip, still surprised at their sudden contact

"Shadowhunters get the Mark when they're born. Not that you would know about it. I kept telling Hodge you're just a mundie with some weird defect, but he wouldn't listen."

Clary chose to ignore the insult

"Then why don't you have the Mark or whatever?" Clary asked her after looking at the back of the girl's bare hands "Aren't you a Shadowhunter?"

The girl scoffed "Of course I am. You would know if you had the Sight, which obviously you don't. You're supposed to concentrate, clear your mind and all that. Peel off the glamour. Go on, give it a try"

 _Game on, then_ , Clary thought, concentrating on the back of the girl's hand, like she was removing coats of paint from a painting to reveal a hidden picture.

All of a sudden, it flashed in front of her eyes: a black design of an eye sketched across the girl's skin. Clary actually jumped back from surprise, but once she blinked, the image was gone.

"Huh, I guess you _do_ have it." her tone was nonchalant, yet a tinge of surprise was peeking through. For the first time the girl was looking directly at her, her narrowed eyes now studying her, appraising her.

Clary tried to return the look levelly, but wasn't sure she was succeeding entirely "Is it, like, a tattoo?", she said

"They're runes. Hurt about as much as a tattoo, I would say" The girl said, looking away from her thoughtfully before adding "They help us in battle. Give us an extra oomph, if you want"

"Battle? You mean for when you're out murdering supernatural creatures?" Clary asked her, not without a healthy dose of sarcasm

That seemed to amuse her, "You got that right, at least. We don't kill _all_ of them, though. Only the really nasty ones"

 _How generous of you,_ Clary thought to herself, mentally rolling her eyes, "Which ones don't you kill?" she simply said

"Downworlders. We aren't particularly jimmy but we tolerate them." the girl said, to which Clary gave a puzzled look "You know vampires, werewolves, the like. By the Angel, don't you know _anything_ at all?"

There she was again with that 'I'm so much better than you' tone. But Clary didn't have time to be offended again, too busy processing the immensity of what she'd just revealed to her.

It was too much to absorb in too little time, and Clary wasn't even sure what to do with the information. There was something tugging at the back of her mind, something important, like a sliver of a memory or a dream that she just couldn't quite put her finger on. Her mother would say it was her overactive imagination at work again, but somehow she felt like she had known all along that it wasn't just all just stories and fairytales. The problem was that it didn't make much sense.

"You know, you still haven't told you your name" Clary ended up saying, changing the subject

"My name isn't something I hand out to anybody, child."

Clary mentally rolled her eyes, "Would you stop calling me that? I already told you my name is Clary", she said

"A mundie name for a mundie girl, would you look at that..." she seemed bored, but decided to add, generously "I guess, if you have to know, I'm Isabelle"

Clary had to admit that was a decent name. It seemed ancient and foreign, perfectly fit for someone like her, and rolled off the tongue like a sweet, whispered secret.

_Isabelle…_

"Anyway, enough with the chit-chatting. Follow me" Isabelle said, already turning away to leave, not waiting for her response, her long hair flowing in the wind behind her like a dark cape.

"You're crazy if you think I'm just going to come with you" Clary said to her, outraged "Ever heard of stranger danger?"

"Then I guess you leave me no choice" Isabelle answered with a shrug, her back still turned away from her, reminding her of what she said to the demon boy the night before, before she whipped out her blade and almost stabbed him in the chest.

 _Not like that's creepy or anything_ , Clary thought, subtly taking a step back from the girl.

Clary looked around the deserted alley they were in with disbelief, "Uh, are you actually threatening to kidnap me right now?", she said

"If you want to put it like that" Isabelle said, turning back to face her again, a playful smile on her lips "Or did you perhaps want me to ask you nicely?"

Clary felt herself blush at the girl's teasing, but tried to not let it affect her.

And just as she was thinking that, her phone started to ring. Isabelle made an annoyed sound as Clary struggled to find it buried deep inside her bag amongst her second sketchpad, her colored pencils and other stuffs. When she finally found it and answered the call, it was on its third ring, and she didn't even bother reading the name on the screen, knowing it had to be her mother.

"Hello?" she asked into the phone, but instead of hearing her mother's characteristically stern tone, Jocelyn seemed outright frantic as she answered.

"Clary? Where are you right now?"

"I was just going to head home, what's going-"

Clary couldn't finish her sentence because her mom exclaimed, interrupting her "No! Don't come home. Listen to me Clarissa, don't you dare come home."

Her mother was practically shouting at her, and Clary had never heard her be this upset. This had to be about something completely different from their earlier fight. She distractedly saw Isabelle glance at her with a puzzled look.

"Mom? Mom, what's going on, are you okay?" Clary noticed her voice had taken a frantic tone, mirroring her mother's, and felt herself instantly regretting everything she'd said to her a few hours ago.

 _If she got hurt because of me, because I wasn't there to help her..._ Clary thought with pure panic, not letting herself finish her thought.

"Clary, promise me you won't come home. Call Luke and tell him-" Her mother's voice cut off and became patchy as static started to overwhelm the audio "He's found me"

"Who's found you? Mom?" she shouted into the phone, feeling tears stinging at the back of her eyes "I'm calling the police, okay? Just get out of there right now!"

Object's clattering and falling to the ground with a dull sound and glass breaking could be heard from the speakers, as well as a horrible slithering noise that seemed to etch itself into Clary's brain, chilling her bones.

Jocelyn took a harsh breath before saying, in the calmest voice "I love you, Clary" before the call cut off entirely.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Thank you for reading!
> 
> The ClaryxIsabelle pair dynamics in this fic are really fun to write about, and I have so many cute scene ideas I can't wait to write! Somehow they're starting to feel like a match made in heaven (I love them both so much)!
> 
> I'm following a pretty straight line (lol) in terms of canon events in City of Bones, just tweaking certain scenes and events slightly, and plan on featuring all the other characters soon enough, just putting the focus on the Clizzy situation.
> 
> The title 'Queen of Darkness' is a goth clothing brand that I really like (but can't afford lolz), and I have the feeling that Isabelle would really suit their style, aside from just loving their stuff and looking like the magnificent goth queen that she is.


	3. Lessons on Demonology

Clary stared numbly at the message displayed on her screen _CALL ENDED_ , an awful feeling of dread growing in her stomach. She had the sense to hit the number 1 on the keypad to speed dial her home phone, but the call simply rang on unanswered, and with each ring she grew more panicked. Why would her mom hang up like that?

"Uh, Clary?" Isabelle, who Clary had almost forgotten was there asked "Are you okay? What's going on?"

But Clary couldn't answer her right now, barely registering her words, too busy redialing the number, as her hands began to shake uncontrollably. So much so that her phone actually slipped from her hands, landing with a crash on the concrete floor. Clary scrambled to retrieve it but it was beyond dead, a large crack streaming through the now black screen.

"Dammit!" she said, as tears started to run down her cheeks. She threw the phone back down in anger.

"Stop" Isabelle said, grabbing her arm and hauling her upright. "Listen to me. I can help you, okay? Just tell me what's going on"

Clary looked up at the girl's face, whose expression seemed fierce and genuinely concerned, gone was her snark and condescending look, and decided to tell her.

"My mom, she said someone found her, I just don't know who or what...There was this noise in the background, and glass breaking..." Clary's voice began to tremble as she trailed off, imagining all the horrible possibilities.

 _Get a grip_ , she told herself, regaining her senses and adding with urgency "Your phone, give it to me. I gotta call the police"

The girl looked sorry. Why did she look sorry?

"I don't actually have one, there's no need for it…"

Clary didn't wait for the rest of her sentence, already rushing off at full speed towards her house, her sneakers pounding on the pavement. _What kind of teenager doesn't have a phone in this day and age?_ Clary thought to herself absentmindedly, wondering if perhaps Isabelle had lied, but something told her the strange girl really didn't have one.

* * *

The night in Brooklyn was thick and even hotter than before, Clary felt like she was swimming through boiling soup as she ran home. She had to stop at a red light, and jumped up and down on the balls of her feet as she waited for it to switch, watching the cars speed by irritatingly.

As she reached the street near her house, she saw their second-floor windows were lit up, which should've been a sign that her mom was home. Yet for some reason her stomach still tightened with dread as she went through the entryway.

Her sense of dread only increased when she went up the stairs and saw their door was unlocked, ajar, as a faint triangle of light spilled from it. When she pushed the door open, she saw their apartment looked like a hurricane had gone on inside it. Everything was ransacked, broken and misplaced, the books were strewn across the living room and Jocelyn's handmade cushions looked like they'd been literally torn apart.

"Mom?" Clary shrieked as she ran over to the kitchen, her panic only increasing as she looked around, fearing the worst "Mom! Where are you?"

All the cabinet doors were open, and a bottle of Tabasco laid shattered on the floor, the red, gooey substance spilling across the tiles. Clary's heart was racing, her amygdala fully awake with a sense of immediate danger, but all she cared about was finding her mother.

It looked like her mother's room had been spared, since everything was where it was supposed to be. Behind her a sharp noise of something being knocked over startled her, stopping her on her tracks and freezing the blood in her veins. The noise was then followed by a slithering noise, the very one that she heard in the background of their call.

And when she turned around, she saw the creature.

It was a hideous cross between a centipede and an alligator, scales covered its slimy body and long spidery legs twitched underneath its shell as it inched closer. It looked like a freak of nature, something that shouldn't even exist. Yet it did. It clearly did.

Clary's scream got trapped in her throat, and she looked around the room for anything that could be used as a weapon. Aside from a framed picture of her when she was five and her mother's handmade flowered quilt, there was nothing much she could use.

She scrambled to close the door in front of the horrific hybrid, but it was already halfway into the doorway. Lodged between the doorframe and the door, the creature twitched and fought to come in, its four beady eyes staring at Clary with a vengeance as she pushed as hard as it could to try and get the door to close.

"Stop it! Just leave me alone" she cried at the creature, obviously not expecting a response

And then the craziest thing happened. Like a hundred-legged creature from the depths of hell roaming around her apartment wasn't crazy enough, the thing _actually_ answered her _._

"Human" it sounded more like a hiss, like a low whisper than a voice "Girl. Eat"

The sound and words startled Clary so bad she actually let go of the door, and the creature came flying into the bedroom, landing directly on top of her, its slimy drool dripping on her neck, and its numerous legs tickling her sides.

"No!" she shouted as she fought to keep its gaping jaws away from her face, overcome by disgust. But the creature was even heavier than it looked, and her arms were quickly getting tired, its pointy teeth only inches away from her face, as her whole life started flashed in front of her eyes.

And just when it looked like all hope was lost, a dark figure came rushing into the hallway, a slender tall silhouette with long hair. Clary had to give it to her, running around in those 5 inch shoes was a prowess of its own.

Isabelle came in, brandishing her whip like some dark, avenging angel, as the golden coil wrapped itself around the creature's scaly body, prying it away from Clary, who laid there astonished.

A second ago she'd been ready to die an untimely death and now Isabelle practically had the spidery monster trapped in a headlock, her heeled boot holding it down as she plunged her strange glass knife into one of its eyes, blood gushing out by the bucket-full.

"No" the monster hissed frantically, and somehow there was pain in its voice "Girls. Blood"

"Shut up, will you" Isabelle said as she drove her luminescent dagger deeply into the creature's neck, permanently shutting up his talk. She expertly removed the knife and retrieved her whip, wrapping it around her arm, and ran over to Clary, who was still in her mother's bedroom, watching everything unfold.

"By the Angel, are you okay?" Isabelle put her hand on Clary's shoulder and gave her a shake "You were so hard to find. Why did you have to run off like that?"

"I needed to find my mother..." Clary said, still amazed at the girl's skill and at how upset she seemed to be. Absent-mindedly she noticed the ruby in Isabelle's necklace was still pulsing and flickering, just like it did at the Pandemonium.

"Yeah, well, you should've waited for me! What did you think you were doing against a Ravener by yourself?" Isabelle looked like she thought Clary had to be insane to do such a thing. But Clary was more interested in the latter part of her sentence.

"A Ravener? is that what that was?" she asked her

But behind Isabelle, Clary saw some movement, and before she had time to alert the girl, a monster just like the other one leaped over her, crash landing on top of the girl with a loud noise that had to hurt.

"Arghh" Isabelle groaned as she fought to get the creature off her "You slimy thing, get off me!"

"He will not be angry, no" said the second Ravener with a voice even more sinister and hideous than the last "Blood and guts. Eat the warm flesh, feast on the bones"

Clary looked at the grotesque scene in horror, powerless to help Isabelle as she fumbled with her whip, uncurling it and lashing it at the disgusting Ravener. She saw a light source on the corner of her eye, like a beacon of sunlight in the dark hallway. A beacon of hope.

It was the girl's bizarre dagger. The same one she'd used to slay the other monster, who was now nothing more than a pool of dark, corrupted blood. _They go back to their dimensions after they die_ , Clary remembered the girl's earlier words. In a heartbeat, Clary grabbed the blade, surprisingly light and comfortable in her right hand, and ran over to help the girl.

"What are you doing with that?" Isabelle shouted at her as soon as she saw her. She'd managed to get out from underneath the deformed alligator, and was now pulling tightly on her whip, holding him in place with effort. As she said that, she lowered her guard, and the monster lashed out at her, its tail missing her by only an inch, but instead dragging its venom-injecting barb over the side of Clary's arm, who had just walked up to them.

A mixture of pain and shock ran over Clary, as the wetness of blood started to spread over her sleeve. No one had to tell her it was venomous, the feeling alone was enough. It stung and burned like live flames on her skin, and already she was starting to feel severely nauseated, like she might faint at any moment.

"Clary?" She vaguely heard Isabelle cry out, calling her name once again. It occurred to her that she'd called her name numerous times today, when before she'd just refused. It felt nice to hear her name, who she'd always thought was a bit plain, coming from Isabelle's lips. It made Clary sound exotic, mysterious, unique somehow.

As Clary thought that, she inched closer to the monster, squeezing the handle of the blade tighter, getting ready to stab him like she'd seen the Shadowhunter do. She'd read those medieval epic fantasy books where they slayed dragons and saved damsels in distress, and imagined herself in one of them. Not that Isabelle was anything like a helpless maiden, in fact, she was the total opposite. But it helped to picture herself as someone heroic, someone fearless, like a knight in a shining armour.

In that singular moment of bravery, she plunged the blade deeply into the creature's eyes, which offered some resistance, its agonizing cry booming as blood exploded around the hilt of the transparent dagger, knowing it was finally the end.

Clary was barely conscious once she saw Isabelle kneel down next to her, realizing she'd somehow ended up laying on the floor, her body completely numb by now. In the back of her mind, muddled underwater, she heard Isabelle's melodic voice distorted by anguish, calling her name. The beautiful girl's face was the last thing she saw before she completely lost consciousness.

She felt her lips curl into the tiniest of smiles, seeing Isabelle was safe and sound, and drifted off peacefully. A singular thought about her mother, hoping the Shadowhunter would be able to find her, crossed her mind before the absolute darkness completely engulfed her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Thanks for reading!
> 
> I'm back with quite an action-packed chapter this time, and once again it was very fun to write! I'm not entirely sure what the rules were on Clary holding a seraph blade, since she's a Shadowhunter but doesn't have the Marks? I'm sorry if that's incorrect lol
> 
> I like how Izzy shows a softer side in here than she did in the other two chapters, caring about Clary and whatnot. Not saying it's going to last, though lol I just sort of love the rivalry they had going on at first, so that sort of dynamic might make a comeback. Sort of an enemies to friends to lovers kind of situation.
> 
> Also, I'm noticing while writing in the third person, writing scenes about two girls is very confusing and challenging lol it's like 'she did this, and then she did that', so I tried using their names most of the time, hope it wasn't confusing


	4. Deadly Nightshade

The steep, spiralling steps of the stairs crumbled under Clary's feet as she got to the top of the ruined stone tower. It was so dark, she could barely see her feet in front of her, and had to rely on touch alone, sliding her hand over each stone on the wall as she ascended. She kept slipping on the long gauze-like train of the cream-colored dress she was wearing but didn't remember ever putting on.

After what seemed like an eternity, Clary reached the top of the tower, where the sunlight broke through the cracks. The view outside from dozens of feet up was some sort of destertic wasteland that looked like it'd gone years without a single drop of rain, with broken columns scattered here and there, and the hot sun shining like a beacon overhead. The sky had the strangest of colors Clary had ever seen, both making everything seem surreal, and making her itch for her box of colored pencils to capture its unnerving beauty.

And there, bathing in the sunlight coming from the gaping holes, was a tall, raven-haired girl.

A floor-length dress made out of a rich, dark material covered her body. Her vermilion lips were the same color of the dark jewel that was encrusted on her chest, just below the hollow of her neck, which flickered like a beating heart. From her back sprouted great black wings, like a fallen angel, showering Clary with soft, dark feathers as the girl batted them slightly, seemingly unconsciously, like some kind of nervous twitch.

Isabelle turned around, smiling at Clary " _Welcome to the Infernal Worlds_ ", she said

"What?" Clary's voice betrayed her confusion "Why are we here?"

The words seemed to get stuck in her throat, and her mind was blurry and her thoughts jumbled, like muddled underwater.

It occured to Clary that the girl looked a lot like the demons she was supposed to be slaying, the shadows she was supposed to hunt. Like belladonna, Isabelle looked as deadly as she was lovely, and Clary couldn't help but be infinitely captivated.

The angel simply giggled, the sound rich and alluring, as she inched closer to Clary, wrapping her dark wings around her. The world seemed to disappear around them, and all she could see was the beautiful girl's face, her crimson lips. Isabelle stroked her cheek and Clary got lost in her dark, bottomless eyes as those same ruby lips set atop hers in the softest, most delicate kiss, as light as a feather.

But soon enough Clary felt her body go numb, as all strength left it.

Shadows as thick as oil appeared around the corners of her vision, before engulfing her completely as the venom cursed through her veins, sending her into a deep, eternal sleep.

* * *

"When is she going to wake up? It's been three days already"

"Isabelle, you've got to give her some time. Demon poison is some strong stuff, and she's only a mundane"

"But she looks so weak...Is she really going to be okay?"

"Little thing, isn't she? And you said she killed a Ravener?"

"She did. I actually thought she was a pixie the first time I saw her"

"She kind of looks like one. Now stop biting on your nails, she's going to be fine"

"Well, how can you be sure? For all we know she might never—Wait, _did you see that?_ "

"She definitely just moved."

Clary's eyelids felt like they'd been sewed together, and as she slowly opened them and blinked for the first time in three days, the motion felt absolutely foreign to her.

Above her was a clear, baby-blue sky with puffy clouds scattered in between. On the clouds infant angels were perched, looking down at her with curiosity. Cherubs, those were called, she remembered. Could she actually be in heaven?

But then she realized she was merely looking at a painted rococo ceiling, like the cathedrals in Italy, which didn't really give her much indication of where on Earth she _actually_ was.

She sat up painstakingly, every part of her body ached, but most of all did her right arm, where the Ravener had cut her. _Good luck trying to finish any drawings now_ , she thought to herself. She was lying in a metal headboard bed amongst a long row of identical ones, next to her a bedside table with a white ceramic cup on it. The usual New York sounds spilled faintly from a lace-curtained window, which let in the soft, afternoon sunlight.

"You're awake!" someone said with a tangible amount of relief

Clary turned around and saw Isabelle sitting on the bed next to hers. Her long, jet-black hair was pulled into two braids that reached up to her waist, her goth gear replaced by a tank top and some jeans, her red pendant was still tied around her neck. Clary noticed faint eye bags that rimmed her pretty eyes, and wondered if perhaps Isabelle hadn't been sleeping well recently. Her intricate tattoos, or runes as she called them, were gone and her skin was as unmarked as a porcelain dish.

"I think I am. What happened?" Clary said to her, and was surprised to hear her voice was all hoarse and raspy.

" _What happened?_ " Isabelle exclaimed with disbelief "You almost gave me a heart attack is what happened! I had to haul you all the way back to the Institute"

"Oh, I'm sorry...I guess" Clary trailed off

"Stop yelling at her, Iz. It's not like she asked two Raveners to thrash her apartment." A voice said from farther away. Clary was instantly fascinated by the eerie resemblance between the two siblings.

The guy looked about their age and was sitting, albeit a little slumped, behind Isabelle. He had her same dark hair and pale complexion but where her eyes were black, his were the color of crushed ice.

"She got blood and ichor all over the carpet, Alec" She said to him with an annoyed sigh "You know our parents would've killed us if they'd seen it"

So Isabelle's brother was named Alec. Clary wondered what kind of parents would give their kids such unique, old world names like that.

As she thought that, a sudden, sharp pain spread over her abdomen, making her gasp.

"Clary?" Isabelle's eyes widened in alarm "Are you okay?"

She nodded slowly "It's my stomach"

The pain was fading but she was starting to feel increasingly light-headed.

"Oh right, my bad. You haven't eaten in three days" Isabelle said as she got up in a rush "Alec, keep her company, I'll be right back"

Alec watched as his sister quickly left the infirmary, a look of thinly disguised panic showing on his features.

An awkward silence reigned between the two of them now that Isabelle wasn't there to keep the conversation going.

"So, you're Isabelle's brother?" Clary attempted to ease the tension between them with a somewhat neutral question

"There's four of us in total." He said in a plain voice "Listen, don't be too hard on her, okay? She stayed up all night when she brought you here, and hasn't left your side since."

That definitely came as a bit of a surprise to Clary.

"Could have fooled me" she said with a small shrug, though she wasn't sure she really meant it

"Technically mundanes aren't even supposed to set foot in the Institute, we only made an exception because Iz was really worried about you" Alec's voice said that he didn't really share the sentiment, but Clary could see he really cared about his sister.

She'd always envied people with siblings, how they could always have a secret confidant to rely on, never feel lonely. Unfortunately the universe had deprived her of such a privilege by making her an only child. Simon was probably the closest she had to a brother, and that was a very bizarre thought in and of itself.

"Iz said you saved her life" Alec interrupted her thoughts, his tone turning serious

"Only if you'd call getting my ass kicked by some weird mutant 'saving her'" Clary gave a derisive laugh. She really hadn't done much besides nearly getting herself killed.

Alec gave her an appraising look, like he'd had a different opinion about her and had somehow been proved wrong.

They didn't have time to continue their talk because Isabelle rushed into the room, trying not to drop the contents of the white pitcher she was carrying.

Clary gave the girl an inquisitive look as she reached her side of her bed

"It's one of Hodge's tisanes" Isabelle explained as she carefully poured the liquid in a cup before handing it to Clary "Here, you must be starving"

The cup was filled with a fragrant, steamy liquid that smelled a lot like herbal tea. She took a sip and a buttery, rich taste filled her mouth, instantly calming her upset stomach and clearing her head.

"Thank you" Clary said, genuinely meaning it as she looked at Isabelle, who had now retrieved her spot on the bed next to hers.

Alec cleared his throat "Well, I think I better leave you two alone"

Isabelle shot him a look Clary didn't quite understand, but the boy simply smiled at her as he got up.

"It was nice meeting you, Clary"

"You, too"

Isabelle twirled her vermillion pendant around her hand, probably as an unconscious gesture, her black nailpolish now chipped, and the more Clary looked at her, the more she was intrigued. Despite seemingly disliking her, Isabelle had brought Clary all the way here, taken care of her...It was definitely confusing.

"So you've met my brother, huh?" Isabelle asked with an eyebrow raise

"He seems nice." Clary said, taking another sip of the delicious concoction

Isabelle tucked a stray lock of dark hair behind her ear in a somewhat fidgety manner "He is. You should meet Jace, too. He seemed interested in talking to you"

Clary nodded in response, "So do all demons talk or was it just that one?", she said

That seemed to amuse Isabelle, because she cracked a smile, a little despite herself. Clary drew a secret satisfaction from being the one who'd made her smile. Something told her that with Isabelle, it wasn't such an easy thing to do.

"Some of them do. The one at the party was an Eidolon, a shape-shifter. Raveners aren't as pretty, obviously" she gave a dismissive hand gesture

Isabelle continued "Anyway, I left some of my old clothes for you in the bathroom. They're on the towel rack in case you want to change"

"What happened to my clothes?"

Isabelle froze for a second, but quickly answered "They were covered in blood and ichor. I had to get rid of them"

"Huh" Clary said, nodding slowly

"Much like mine, actually. That velvet dress and the white one from the party...My clothes have a tendency to get destroyed around you"

Now it was Clary's turn to freeze, and she felt herself blush with the tacit implications of Isabelle's words.

The girl gracefully sprang to her feet, a mischievous smile on her lips "I'll tell everyone you're awake. I mean, you've made them wait for three days now."

Clary wondered who exactly could be waiting so impatiently for her. Isabelle was almost at the door when she addressed Clary again.

"Oh, and Clary?" Clary nodded in her direction "There's soap in the bathroom. You might want to clean up a little"

Implied was the fact that Clary probably did not, in fact, smell very well after being bedridden for 3 days. That didn't make it any less insulting, however.

Clary narrowed her eyes at the girl "Thanks a lot"

"Anytime" Her little smug tone was infuriating to say the least

* * *

Isabelle's clothes weren't exactly what you would call flattering. The girl had a good few inches over Clary, who was only 5'3 on a good day, and she had to roll the jeans several times until they stopped dragging on the ground. Needless to say, the plunge tank top did nothing for her nonexistent figure either.

At least the soap was lavender, Clary thought. She dried herself with a white hand towel, her red hair left bouncing around in perfumed curls. Her reflection wasn't much to look at but at least she looked clean.

She put on her green sketchers which'd been placed neatly at the foot of her bed and went off to find Isabelle.

The corridor leading from the infirmary was the stuff from nightmares. Long, marbled and seemingly stretching endlessly, instantly giving a sense of vertigo and unease. Glass candle holders were symmetrically placed on the walls, making the place smell like candle wax and look like some medieval castle. It was strange how everything in this place was historic in some way, seeming to come from an entirely different era. Clary was scared if she wasn't too careful she'd break one of them and it'd turn out to be a priceless artefact or something.

In the distance a faint, tinkling sound could be heard, echoing on the stone walls. It sounded a lot like piano keys arranged in a delicate, sorrowful melody. She somehow found herself following the sound through the empty corridor, until she came to the source.

A door was open, and peering inside revealed an old-fashioned music room, where a grand piano stood in the corner. A guy her age was sitting there, his hands sliding over the keys, on his face a look of concentration. To Clary's surprise, he was barefoot and dressed casually in jeans and a t-shirt. He didn't look anything like the siblings she'd just met, with his golden eyes and fair hair, but the ease and familiarity with which he sat there and played led her to believe he probably lived here.

She must've accidentally made some kind of noise, because he turned around, peering into the shadows "Alec? Is that you?"

"Sorry, didn't mean to interrupt" She stepped into the light "I'm Clary"

He got to his feet "Well, well. Our very own sleeping beauty has risen from her slumber. Who finally kissed you awake, princess?"

Clary thought back to the raven-haired Shadowhunter, who despite her attitude had ultimately saved her life. She wouldn't have minded that much, Clary thought to herself, if Isabelle had decided to wake her up with a kiss.

And as she thought that, she was eerily reminded of her strange fever-dream. The one where the dark-haired girl had given her a kiss of death with her poisoned lips, wrapping her dark, corrupted wings around her, killing her as she held her in a final embrace. _And Clary had enjoyed every second of it._

"Nobody did" she answered after too long a pause, feeling reasonably flustered

"Are you blushing right now? Wait, did someone _actually_ kiss you?" the guy asked with a chuckle, clearly enjoying this

Clary changed the subject "You know, I've told you my name, but you haven't told me yours"

"You're right, where are my manners today?" He outstretched his hand "My name is Jace Wayland. I live here, as a matter of fact"

"Are you a brother of Isabelle and Alec's?"

"Not exactly." He said dismissively "Listen, I'm told you defeated a Ravener the other day"

"Why won't everyone stop mentioning that? I stabbed a weird, mutant centipede in the eye and then passed out. That must be like, normal Tuesday for you guys, right?"

Jace gave a chuckle "That is, in fact, how a lot of our Tuesdays go. Minus the fainting part, of course. How did you do it, pray tell? "

"Oh, with those strange knives Isabelle carries. With the transparent blade"

That made Jace pause, confusion etched on his features "Iz didn't tell me that"

"What? Well it's not like it matters"

While learning all about the supernatural world for the first time was certainly intriguing, Clary was getting a little tired of this talk, and was still waiting for the right opportunity to ask for a phone. She was trying very hard not to think about what could've happened to her mother, and was dying to call Luke to ask him about it.

"It does, actually. Follow me, I think you need to see Hodge" The boy's voice was serious, and even though Clary didn't know him at all, she had the feeling that was a rare thing for him

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Thanks 4 reading!
> 
> Finally! Finally I'm back with the next chapter. Took me ages to edit because I wanted to get it just right.
> 
> Also there's a part where Clary compares her to belladonna aka deadly nightshade. Belladonna literally translates from Italian into 'pretty lady', which I found quite fitting for Izzy.
> 
> Anyway, this chapter is really starting to deviate from the canon stuff, like with the dream sequence and whatnot. The idea was to start very close to what happened in City of Bones, and start deviating further from there.


	5. Dark Academia

The Institute had that classic gothic cathedral look, complete with high stone ceilings crowned by arcs-brisés, solid marble statues standing imposingly on the hallways, and hand-painted murals. Overhead were stained-glass windows that reflected the afternoon sun, creating delicate patterns and bathing everything in a dim, kaleidoscopic light.

Clary noticed certain reoccurring themes. Angels and demons, swords and feathers, a never-ending fight between Good and Evil. Not exactly surprising for a bunch of demon hunters.

Her clumsy steps boomed loudly on the marble floor as she walked, unlike Jace, who had the elegance of a dancer as he strolled through the hallway without a care in the world. It would be hard for Clary to ever think of a cold, scary place like this as 'home', but it was clear that Jace did.

Clary broke their silence "Who else lives here? It seems sort of empty"

As they walked, they had passed row after row of identical rooms, each barrenly furnished with a bed and nightstand, all of them vacant.

"People come and go but never stay for long. It's just us here. Alec, Iz, Max, Hodge, and myself, of course. Max is the Lightwood's youngest, by the way" Jace explained "He's away at Idris with his parents right now"

"Idris?" Clary said, the name vaguely familiar "Is that in Europe?"

Jace nodded at her "A small country between France and Germany. It's like a Shadowhunter homeland, for all intents and purposes"

"How come I've never heard of it?"

Jace gave a small chuckle, "Well, it's not in any of your history maps. Plus there are magical wards all around it, protective wards. You couldn't get there if you tried"

There was something about his tone when he said the name, something wistful somehow, something that reeked of nostalgia.

Clary glanced up at him "I'm assuming you've been there before", she said

"That's where I grew up, actually", Jace's mouth twitched almost imperceptibly as he answered, and Clary decided not to push the subject.

* * *

The walls of the library were lined with bookshelves so high, Clary would have to climb on the casters set along them to even reach the middle rows. The books were leather-bound, ancient-looking tomes, with metal clasps and embezzled spines. They looked a century old at least, but also had a certain well used quality to them, like they'd been passed down with care through generations.

Towards the back of the room sat a massive mahogany writing desk, akin to a ship commander's. The table seemed to be held up by two wooden angels, their faces grave with anguished effort, with a sort of stoicism. And behind it, on a lavish chair, sat a grey-haired man.

"A bibliophile, I see", he said in a low voice

Clary didn't hide her surprise "How could you tell?"

The man began to rise from his desk with effort "The look on your face said it all", he simply answered, the corners of his eyes crinkling as he smiled

Clary failed to stifle a gasp, for the man seemed strangely deformed, crookback, his left shoulder lifted unnaturally high. But as he approached, not without a certain hobble, she saw it was actually a pitch black bird that perched on his tweed-jacket covered shoulder.

"This is Hugo, he knows a great number of things" the man said, gesturing towards the bird "I, however, am named Hodge Starkweather, and don't know much at all"

That drew a surprised chuckle from Clary, who shook his outstretched hand somewhat awkwardly "I'm Clary", she said

The man nodded "I've heard a great number of things about you, Clary Fray"

"Is it anything good?" Clary found herself asking him, which earned her a smirk from Jace, who was now lounging on a purple divan nearby, a tattered book in hand, and a rich laugh from the old man.

"Yes, dear. Exceptional, in fact" the man continued, pushing his large frames over his nose "It's no, ahem, coincidence, that those Ravener demons found their way into your home. This must come as quite a shock, however I believe it must be said," he paused, perhaps for effect "There is a great chance that you are, in fact, one of us"

Clary felt herself freeze for a second, almost believing his words. But then she came crashing down to her senses. Undead, deformed creatures from hell attempting to murder her, that she could somehow wrap her mind around, but _this_? It seemed insane. No matter whether they'd saved her life or not, she'd be a fool to trust people she'd just met, specially such strange individuals. 

"With all due respect, sir, I'm pretty sure you're mistaken" 

Jace, who hadn't spoken much, sat up straighter on the divan "Afraid not. That blade you used to slay the demon? Well, it's enchanted with runes. If a mundane, I mean, a _human_ were to touch it...Let's say they wouldn't make it very far"

"Then maybe I'm a weird human, somehow immune to your runes, or whatever" Clary started, exasperated "Listen, it's fine if you can't help me, but I can't just sit here and discuss strange, faulty sword mechanics with you"

"Clarissa, your mother could very well be a Shadowhunter, in which case, you needn't worry much about her safety" Hodge continued in a voice clearly meant to be reassuring "There is a great many number of reasons why a Shadowhunter might go into hiding"

Jace interrupted "I'd say being hunted by a Ravener is a pretty good reason" 

"You people don't understand, there's no way my mom is like you. She's human, she has nothing to do with monsters or demons. More importantly, she would've _told_ me if she were."

Clary thought back to her earlier conversation with Simon, to how little she actually knew about her mother. And she hated that fact. She hated it so much. For a second, it felt like the word was crashing down at her feet. Like she didn't know which way was up or down anymore. Clary wished she could close her eyes and make it all go away somehow. Escape this absurd nightmare and go back to worrying about stupid nightclubs and art classes. Not about whether her missing mother was a supernatural creature or not.

A melodic and familiar voice resonated behind her "There you are", Clary turned around to see Isabelle at the doorway "I thought you might have gotten lost somewhere along the corridors"

"Perhaps you should've told her where the library was", Jace said matter-of-factly, and Isabelle shot him a glare.

"Anyway, you're here now, that's all that matters" Isabelle said dismissively, before taking a better look at Clary "What's going on in here? Why are you making that face?"

"Hodge just told Clary that she's a Shadowhunter" Jace said "Let's just say she hasn't taken it very well"

Isabelle made a pause, "Wait she's a _what_ now?"

"But there's no way, right Isabelle? There's no way I'm like you guys" Clary said, sounding less convinced than she had hoped

Jace shook his head, "It all makes sense, why she was able to hold your seraph blade, how she survived the poison, even why her mother was taken"

Clary didn't like what he was insinuating, "What's _that_ supposed to mean?", she said

"Now, now let's not get carried away. Isabelle here has volunteered to help you, Clarissa" Hodge said, gesturing towards Isabelle, who didn't comment "But there are a few things about our world that you should learn first"

Clary knew the man was being reasonable, but for some reason she didn't like the way he kept calling her Clarissa. In fact, she hated it.

"Isabelle, you were there remember? You saw those _things_ that took my mother. You know I can't afford lose any more time," Clary said, her voice almost pleading

The proverbial clock of time seemed to be ticking faster and faster in her head, driving her mad, but she was only moving slower and slower. For all she knew, her mother could be at the other end of the world right now, lost forever. And nobody seemed to care at all. 

To her surprise, Isabelle nodded "I know", she said, gesturing for Clary to follow "Come on. Weapon room"

"But Iz, you don't understand-"

Isabelle turned around "Listen, Jace, she could be a Downworlder for all I care right now. Believe me, there will be _plenty_ of time to discuss her hypothetical bloodline later. Now, let's go, Clary"

* * *

The weapon's room was pretty self-descriptive. As in, it looked like it came straight out of a medieval movie set, with row upon row of hanged swords and knives and things Clary didn't really know the name of. Simply put, there was enough to equip an army.

Then there were all kinds of arrows, and bows, and even an actual maze. The place smelled metallic and leathery, and it was easy to see why.

On the table were three blades that Isabelle carried, the same ones Clary had used to slay that demon. When she'd first seen them, she thought they simply reflected the light, but it was clear now that the daggers were actually glowing, like they were covered in iridescent, glow-in-the-dark paint. The little she knew about the supernatural world told her it had to be some kind of magic.

Isabelle looked up from what she was doing, and stared directly into Clary's eyes for the first time "We can go to your house to investigate, though if whoever took your mom is still trying to find you, that's the first place they'd look"

Clary felt a shiver running down her spine "Then that's where we should go", she said, ignoring it

Isabelle took one long, appraising look at her before nodding. Then she continued arming herself to the teeth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! It took me a few tries to get this chapter right, but I'm glad I kept at it. More to come soon so stay tuned!


	6. Alligator Blood

The second she and Isabelle left the station, Clary's heart started to speed up, and a nauseating feeling began to spread over her. It had only been three days, for most of which she'd been unconscious, but Brooklyn felt so different to her. It looked alien, unknown somehow, like it had been swapped out with a nearly identical yet fundamentally different version, where everything was just slightly crooked, slightly off somehow. Once they both finally made their way to her apartment, all her fears were confirmed at once.

It was empty. Completely cleared out. Clary wondered if perhaps she'd gone into the wrong apartment by accident, but then she saw that spot on the wall. That particular spot where Jocelyn and her had chipped the paint while moving the couch a few years ago. Her mother had rather dismissively covered it with one of her original abstract paintings when it happened, but now the painting was gone.

Isabelle, who'd been standing behind her on the hallway, waiting to come in, tapped her on the shoulder "Clary? Why are you just standing there?"

When Clary didn't answer, Isabelle gently moved her aside and peered inside the room.

"Oh" she started "It wasn't like this three days ago, was it?"

Clary just shook her head. She walked over to the kitchen and wasn't surprised to find it completely bare "Isabelle?" Clary called out to her 

"Yes?"

"Did a bunch of demons just steal my refrigerator?"

Isabelle looked around the room, "I doubt it. I mean, this was probably the work of a mun-...I mean a human"

If the situation wasn't so bizarre, Clary probably would've found it funny.

"What do we do now?" Clary ran a hand through her hair in frustration "I mean, all the evidence is gone. We're never going to find anything, are we?"

"Impossible. Humans aren't smart enough for that" Isabelle said with a shrug "No offense"

Isabelle walked further into Jocelyn's room, before pointing at the wall "See? Careless"

On the wall where Jocelyn's dresser used to stand was a smudged blood splatter. The dark liquid was spread out thickly, smeared in places where someone had clearly tried to clean it but had seemingly given up halfway. 

Clary took a long breath, trying to steady herself. She felt disoriented, like she didn't know which way was up or down anymore.

"None taken", she said

* * *

There was nothing on the second floor and Clary started to question whether that night had even happened at all. But she could still feel the faint throb of her arm where the Ravener had stung her. That, and the dark haired girl standing beside her was proof enough that the utter nightmare had happened all right. Isabelle was meticulously looking for a footprint, a drop of blood, anything left behind that could give them a clue of where Jocelyn was.

But when they got to the first floor, Clary noticed something she hadn't seen before. On Madame Dorothea's door was a set of three long curved gashes, scratched deeply into the wood. Like claws. Each gap in the wood was filled with the same dark viscous substance.

"Look" Clary touched the door and her fingers came out stained with the liquid "Is that..."

Isabelle nodded, taking her blade out of the holster at her hip and motioning for Clary to stand back. She used her boot-clad foot to kick the door open in one swift, loud motion.

Clary didn't know exactly what she had been expecting. But it couldn't have been any weirder than this.

Madame Dorothea was sitting on a flowered armchair, an open book on her lap and a cat sprayed lazily on the rug at her feet. Both of them barely looked up at Isabelle and her when they bursted in.

The woman then glared at them over her teacup "You break it, you pay it", she said, gesturing towards the door

For the first time since she'd met her, Isabelle looked as surprised as she was. Perhaps even a little more. The proud, warrior-like Isabelle, whose cool exterior nothing could disturb seemed outright baffled by the scene. And Clary couldn't blame her.

"What..." Isabelle fumbled for words "What are you doing here?"

Madame Dorothea gave a humourless chuckle, "Why, this is my house. What are _you_ doing here, Shadowhunter?"

Now it was Clary's turn to be speechless.

Isabelle looked around the room and then towards Madame Dorothea herself "Oh" she said dryly "You didn't tell me your neighbour was a witch, Clary"

Clary herself looked around, realising despite being neighbours for years, she'd never gone inside Madame Dorothea's apartment before. The place smelled very strongly of incense, sandalwood maybe, and posters set along the walls showed pictures of astrology, Chinese characters and what looked like alchemy symbols. Her eyes were particularly drawn to the curtained entryway to the other room, where she could just make out the glint of a crystal ball.

"Took you long enough" Madame Dorothea said with a half-smile "But you're still wrong, I'm no witch"

Clary suddenly found her voice again "Wait a second. I just thought you, like, read fortunes and stuff"

"If not a witch, then what? You can't expect me to believe you're a mundane"

Madame Dorothea shook her head, her golden earrings swaying from side to side "My mother was a witch. I'm just the caretaker of this place, the protector of sorts"

"Excuse me, uh, Madame, but what exactly is it you're trying to protect?", Isabelle said, an eyebrow arched on her lovely face

"Isabelle!"

"What?"

"That's a great question, Shadowhunter" Madame Dorothea said as she parted the curtain of beads at the entryway "Come on, follow me"

Clary glanced expectantly at Isabelle, who just shrugged as she followed the woman into the dark room, seemingly saying 'what's the worst thing that could happen?'.

Her eyes took a second to adjust to the light change, and even then it was hard to make out everything. By the looks of it, it had to be Madame Dorothea's parlour room.

Heavy velvet curtains covered the windows, obscuring the light, and the floor was covered with persian rugs in different styles and, often overlapping, lengths. It was furnished with a round table, a crystal ball on an ornate silver stand and a stack of cards in a silk pouch. One of the cards had slipped out of the pouch and was laying face up on the table.

Instantly upon setting her eyes on it, Clary recognized it "Is that...That's my mother's, isn't it?", she said

"You recognize them?" Dorothea said as she sat down, her deep violet robes pooling around her "I had your mother make me that set of cards. One of a kind. I only use them on special occasions. Like today"

Clary simply stared at the cards, on them the familiar illustrations made by her mother's hand. She had no idea Jocelyn had made these for Dorothea, she never even mentioned knowing the woman. Clary was once again reminded of the long list of things she didn't know about Jocelyn. And she had a feeling that list wouldn't stop growing anytime soon.

"They're beautiful" Isabelle said, glancing at her "I didn't know your mother was an artist"

Clary felt herself well up with pride "She is. She taught me everything I know"

Thinking about Jocelyn was too painful, and she couldn't stop doing it. Clary felt exposed, vulnerable, like she was falling face-first into a bottomless abyss, her arms frantically reaching for an escape, for something to hold on to. But there was nothing there.

"Sandwiches?" Madame Dorothea said to the two of them, startling her out of her panic "Tea, anyone?"

Clary took a sandwich from the silver plate she offered "Thank you", she said as she took a bite, the crunchy, salty taste filling her mouth. Mayonnaise and cucumber perhaps. Clary had almost forgotten how hungry she was.

"Anything for your friend over here?" Dorothea said, raising an eyebrow

 _I wouldn't say she's my friend_ , Clary thought to herself, _at least I don't think so._

"No, thank you", Isabelle said

Clary thought she might as well get right into the heart of the subject.

"So, Madame Dorothea, do you happen to know anything about where my mother is?"

"I don't know much about it, only that she was taken. It'd be best if you stopped worrying about her"

Clary's heart felt like it had stopped beating all together. And the words came out all jumbled, stumbling over themselves like they couldn't get out fast enough.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"She's alive, that's for certain, so you can breathe now, child. But looking for her will only get you into trouble, and trouble you aren't capable of dealing with...and neither is your friend"

Isabelle narrowed her eyes at the woman, "You sound like you know who took her. I mean, those Raveners could hardly be working alone", she said

"Tea?" Madame Dorothea said as she held up a pitcher for Isabelle

"No, thank you." Isabelle shook her head "And for my question?"

"Here" Dorothea started as she swiftly spread the tarot cards on the table like a fan "Run your fingers over them, feel which one is warm to the touch, which one calls to you"

Clary focused on the cards, but none of them seemed particularly anything. They were just, well, cards. Her mother had always disliked that juju, hocus pocus stuff, saying it was just people trying to scam you for your money, and Clary had never really had any reason to disagree. So she just choose one at random and handed it back to the woman.

"Huh" Madame Dorothea made a pause before flipping the card over for her to see "Ace of Cups"

The card showed a golden cup held up by a disembodied hand, encrusted with precious stones. The style was so similar she would've recognised it by touch alone.

Clary hesitated "Is that good? Does that tell you where my mother is?"

"I don't know about your mother. But this card signifies love. Great good and evil are done in the name of love. You can't be too careful with it"

"That's it?" Isabelle said with outrage "That's all you have to say? Talk about useless"

"If you don't like it, go look elsewhere. I never said I could help you girls" Dorothea said "Now, why don't _you_ pick a card, Shadowhunter?

"What, just so you'll tell me a vague fortune cookie one-liner that won't help us at all?"

There was no point in angering the woman, who clearly seemed to know more than she let on. Clary was hoping something would slip up if they kept the conversation going.

"Isabelle, come on. I really don't know what else to do"

Isabelle sighed deeply "Okay, okay. I'll pick a card. But I'm only doing it for you"

On Isabelle's card was a tall, crumbling tower, with dark flames bursting from its top in a nightmarish inferno. An angel was falling from it, heading straight into the sharp, jagged rocks below.

Madame Dorothea took a big breath before speaking "What your heart fears most will become reality, and all the power in the world won't be enough to stop it, Shadowhunter"

"Well, isn't that just great." Isabelle said in a deadpan tone

If everything weren't so messed up, Clary would've found it hilarious.

"Does that have anything to do with my mother?"

"I don't think so, no. That's not quite the energy I'm getting from it."

"Then what..." Clary looked over at Isabelle, who was scanning the room with her eyes, a concentrated expression on her face

"You said you were protecting the place, didn't you?" Isabelle said "So, where is it?"

"Why, were is what, now?"

"The portal, where is it?"

"What portal?" Clary said, puzzled. She was starting to get used to the feeling.

Isabelle glanced at her "She's a Control, Clary. That's why this place even exists."

Clary still had virtually no idea what she was talking about, but somehow she had a feeling it had something to do with Jocelyn. If what happened over the last two days was anything to go by, anytime something paranormal happened, her mother couldn't be too far behind.

"Is that why my mother painted these cards?"

"Look, kid, she did things for me here and there, and in return, I kept her up to date with the Downworld affairs. The gossip, if you will. Anything that mentioned the name Valentine"

Isabelle paused "What did you just say?"

She looked like she had come to a strange realisation, and Madame Dorothea nodded in her direction, confirming her thoughts.

"So, it's true. That Eidolon wasn't lying, for once. He's back, somehow. But how? And what does he want with Clary's mother?"

"Who knows what he wants" Madame Dorothea shook her head "Power, destruction, what he's always wanted."

"What are you guys talking about? Who's that guy Valentine?"

All Clary could think about was the cherub that went around shooting arrows at people, but she doubted that was what they were referring to. Though with them, you never knew.

"He was once a powerful Shadowhunter, the leader of a very dark, evil cult. But he died years ago, or at least everyone thought so."

"People around here have a tendency to not stay dead for very long" Isabelle said in a somber tone "You don't mind if we use it, right? Your portal"

Madame Dorothea nodded, "Be my guest. It's the least I could do", she said as she parted one of the velvet hangings on the wall that Clary hadn't even noticed was there to reveal an old, brass-colored door.

"Come on, Clary" Isabelle said with a sigh as she took Clary's hand " _We're going to have to contact the Clave_ "

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Thanks a lot for reading!!  
> I've been pretty busy and uploading very slowly but I think I'm liking the way these last chapters are turning out. I feel like Clary and Isabelle relationship's is getting more and more intense...


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